reid continues to be involved. i'm told he has spoken to the president several times today. so the hope is though that they really will be able to at this point because they are so close to move this forward. but, again, that remains a big question mark. president obama, of course, today had that sort of campaign-style event. he has waged this public campaign to pressure congress, not only republicans, but also democrats who have expressed some skepticism about this emerging deal that is coming together. so that is part of the president's tactic as well, to not only be working the phones behind the scenes, but also to hold these public events and, of course, he sat down with david gregory this weekend on quths meet the press." that's part of his calculation as well. >> let's talk more about the political calculation. for more reaction i'm joined by nbc's luke russert. good to see you, luke. >> how are you doing? >> i want to pick up on what mike was saying, even as we were on the air house republicans were watching